First Year
by Nyeerg
Summary: September 1st is a big, long, somewhat terrifying day for eleven year old Scorpius Malfoy.


**A/N:** This goes hand in hand with Al's chapter in Secrets of the Weasley Clan, but you don't need to read that to get this. In my personal epilogue canon, Astoria and Draco have a second child when Scorpius is seven, so if you're wondering who Calista is, that would be Scorpius' little sister. Anyhoo, one-shot, enjoy, review if you like or don't if you dislike or whatever makes you happiest.

* * *

"Dad?"

Draco glanced in the rearview mirror at his son. Scorpius had his forehead pressed against the window and was staring off into the distance. "Yes?"

"Why are we driving?" A red double-decker, something Scorpius probably hadn't seen before, went by. He didn't react. Draco held in a sigh and glanced at Astoria, who was attempting to read the map in her lap.

"What do you mean?"

Scorpius heaved a large sigh and sat up straight. "We're wizards, going to a wizard train station to go to a wizard school. Why are we driving like Muggles?"

"To enrich your environment," Astoria said absentmindedly. "Take the next right. No, left, sorry. Wait…no, I was right the first time. Take the next right."

"Are you positive?" Draco, always somewhat nervous about driving (why couldn't Muggles have a less dangerous method of travel, like brooms or carpets or something that didn't involve speeding metal deathtraps?), changed lanes to the innermost lane. "This right?"

"Yes. Uh…yes." Astoria turned the map upside down. "You know, these things are quite possibly the least helpful navigation aid in existence."

"Are we going to be late?" Scorpius, who'd been bored since leaving the house, thunked his head back against the window. "It's gonna rain."

"It's the nicest day all month," Astoria said.

"It's the first of September!"

Draco snorted. Hearing Astoria and Scorpius go back and forth was endlessly entertaining. "No, we're not going to be late. Have a little faith in us, we've got plenty of time."

"It's ten thirty and you have no idea where we are." Scorpius made faces at the people in the cars next to them. "I'm going to miss the train and then they aren't going to let me go to Hogwarts and I'll have to live at home until I'm thirty."

"Somebody's being awfully mopey," Astoria whispered to Draco. "Maybe we should have brought Calista."

"Oh, yes, a fidgety four year old and a pitiful eleven year old. That would definitely improve this. What now?" Draco smoothly completed the turn and gave himself a mental pat on the back. To be truthful, there were other, easier ways to get to King's Cross, but, probably out of some misguided attempt to have 'family bonding time', and at Astoria's urging, he'd learned how to drive. It had practical uses, for when they needed to get around in Muggle London or when they were traveling by non-magical means, but it still seemed like a huge waste of time.

"Go straight for…a centimeter is 1/10th of a mile, so…a mile? Roughly? And then it'll be a left onto, hold on, what street are we on? I lost my place."

"Goswell," Scorpius said. "There's a great big sign right over there with the name on it."

"Thank you for your input, Scorpius." Astoria found the street again. "Goswell onto Pentonville Road, it kind of curves to the left so I'm not sure if it's an actual turn or not."

"We're probably going to crash."

Draco rolled his eyes. Scorpius had been so excited to leave just last week, but all morning he'd been going on about how everything would go wrong and they'd all die in a fire or something. Astoria thought it was hilarious, but she also had gotten back from work just in time to leave, so she'd only seen how he'd been acting once they got in the car.

"So what House do you want to be in?" Draco asked in an attempt to get him acting less pathetic.

"Slytherin, I guess."

"You guess?" Astoria prompted. "Why's that?"

"Malfoys are always in Slytherin." His nearly-monotone voice didn't give it away but Draco knew Scorpius was worried about not getting sorted into the 'right' House. He'd tried to avoid any negative mention of any of the other houses but children in magical homes picked things up. Like, for instance, Malfoys only ever being in Slytherin.

"I was in Gryffindor, you know that," Astoria said. "I'm a Malfoy too."

"Only by marriage, Mum."

Astoria almost looked affronted, but Draco took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her and see her remember that he was only eleven and eleven year olds didn't usually mean what came out of their mouths. She smiled at him and turned around to look at Scorpius. "That's true, but you know that's not how it _has_ to be. Malfoys are allowed to be in other Houses."

"Does the Sorting Hat know that?"

"You'll be fine." Draco followed the curve onto Pentonville Road. "What are you looking forward to at Hogwarts?"

"I dunno. There's a sign for King's Cross." Scorpius took his book off the seat next to him and marked his page. He'd read it for maybe ten minutes into the two hour drive before getting tired of it, after going on and on about how he wanted it so bad and absolutely had to have it for the trip to Hogwarts.

"Let's see, what do I remember from Hogwarts…" Astoria leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "There's a portrait in the dungeons below the Great Hall with fruit on it. Tickle the pear and you can get into the kitchen."

"For what?"

"The house-elves love to give people food. If you learn their names they'll do pretty much anything you need."

"Huh." Scorpius fiddled with the cover of his book. The manor had house-elves, of course, but their townhouse didn't. Draco personally didn't want them, not after the fiasco with Dobby and Harry. A cleaning lady came three times a week and took care of the major cleaning. "What else is interesting?" he asked casually, trying to sound like he wasn't interested.

"There are secret passages everywhere," Draco said. "And rooms that nobody uses, and rooms hidden by secret passages."

Astoria looked at him sharply. He tried to pacify her with a look. He wouldn't tell Scorpius about the Room of Requirement; if he never found it for himself Draco wouldn't be upset. That room held far too many unpleasant memories; the Fiendfyre came immediately to mind. He'd sometimes wondered if Crabbe's body was still there or if the fire had destroyed it. It had moved so quickly…it could have easily burned out before returning to destroy his remains. Then again, it _was_ Fiendfyre. Hell, there could even be Ashwinder eggs in the Room of Hidden Things, as it was a magical fire. Would they have hatched if nobody opened the room?

"Like what?"

"Well, on the fourth floor, there's a portrait of, oh, who was it, Draco? Rufus Scrimgeour?" Astoria bumped his arm and pointed at the parking lot for King's Cross.

"Thanks, dear," he said. "Rufus Scrimgeour was Minister of Magic during my seventh year. I believe it's Brutus Scrimgeour in the portrait."

"Anyways, Mum?" Scorpius asked. He leaned forward a bit, suddenly more willing to show interest. Draco nearly smacked himself. What eleven year old wouldn't be fascinated by secret rooms? He should have known better. If he'd mentioned it sooner they could have avoided him moping the whole time.

"Anyways, you can get into the Trophy Room. It has trophies going back for centuries. You can get into the Armoury from there."

Draco snorted as he parked the car. "Astoria, did I ever tell you that I tricked Harry and his friends into going there at midnight by telling him we'd duel?"

"You did not," Astoria said with a shake of her head. "What awful things you're teaching our son. Dueling at Hogwarts!"

"Dueling looks like fun, Mum," Scorpius piped up. Draco grinned broadly at Astoria who threw up her hands in despair.

"Please don't duel anybody at school," Astoria pleaded with a tone of resignation.

"Or if you do, at least wait until you've learned how. No sense in dueling if you don't know how."

"Okay, Dad!" Scorpius said cheerfully, his bad mood broken. "I promise not to duel anybody until I know how."

"Draco!" Astoria said. He laughed and ruffled Scorpius' hair. "You two are unbelievable," she muttered. "Are you going to pop the boot?"

"I'll grab a trolley!" Scorpius ran off towards the entrance to King's Cross while Draco and Astoria made of a show of manhandling his trunk out. Draco had placed a featherlight charm on it before leaving the house for exactly that reason. Scorpius returned in record time and bounced around while they settled his things on it. "Come on, let's go, it's ten forty!"

"That's plenty of time, you know," Draco pointed out. He followed his wife and child as Scorpius led the way despite not having the slightest clue where he was going. Astoria stopped him from charging off in the wrong direction and Draco briefly lost him and Astoria in the crowd. "Silly child," he mumbled.

He caught up with them waiting at Platform 9. "I don't get it, Dad," Scorpius said. "How are we supposed to get onto the platform?"

"Very carefully. Astoria?" Draco turned to his wife, who walked boldly through the wall. Scorpius nearly freaked and grabbed onto Draco's sleeve in panic. "Calm down, she's just on the other side. Why don't you go ahead?"

"I don't think I want to," Scorpius mumbled, eyes wide. He stared at the barrier and Draco wondered if they'd ever told him about it. If his behavior was anything to judge by, either they hadn't or he'd forgotten. "Are you sure?"

"I'll be right behind you, I promise." Draco pushed Scorpius towards the barrier and nodded encouragingly. Had he been as frightened when he was doing through it for the first time? He couldn't remember. "Go ahead, Mum's waiting."

Scorpius, tossing nervous looks over his shoulder, stuck one hand through the barrier, then closed his eyes and flailed through it. Draco laughed and pushed the trolley in after him. He found Scorpius nearly latched onto Astoria on the other side. They shared an amused look before she led the way towards the train. "This is so weird," Scorpius breathed. "There's people everywhere! And, look, they're already in their robes! Do I need to be in them too?"

"Just change before you get to Hogsmeade and you'll be fine." Astoria leaned down to straighten Scorpius' collar. Draco glanced around at the crowd, looking halfheartedly for familiar faces, when he spotted Harry and company doing the same. He and Harry made eye contact and he nodded curtly before glancing down at Harry's son. He looked just like him, only the expression of concern on his face matched Scorpius'. He nodded at the child as well before turning back to his family.

"—and don't forget to write, we'll be expecting a letter by the weekend to know what House you're in. Remember, any House is a good House."

Scorpius mulled that over. "Wait, Mum, does that mean that they can send me back? Like they can say 'oh, we don't need you in any of the Houses, go home?'" His panicked expression returned.

"No, of course not!" Astoria stood back and surveyed their oldest child. "You'll do fine. Don't forget to make friends! And don't sneak into Hogsmeade!"

"Good bye, Mum," Scorpius said. He grabbed his trunk and with more than a couple backwards glances, dragged his trunk onto the train.

"I can barely believe he's already old enough to be leaving," Astoria said quietly. "I hope he remembers to write."

"He'll be fine. Did you know Harry Potter has a son who's going for his first year too?"

"I didn't realize his son was that old. Maybe they'll be friends." Astoria leaned against his shoulder and he, in an un-Malfoy-like display of affection, put his arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. "Maybe they'll fix what you and him started," she said.

"We can only hope," Draco said. They stood quietly with the other parents as the train pulled out of the station.

* * *

Scorpius dragged his trunk onto the train and followed the other, older students. He glanced into each carriage, hoping for one to himself or at least one with not many people. Eventually he found one with one other first year who was already passed out. He shoved his trunk onto the overhead carrier and gingerly took the other seat, hoping to not wake up the other boy. The boy had dark brown hair and the satchel beside him had the letters A.E.B in fancy engraved letters. Scorpius leaned back against his seat and, to his surprise, woke up several hours later to see an old woman pushing a snack trolley down the tiny hallway along the train.

"Sweets, dear?" she asked. "Chocoballs, fizzing whizbees, chocolate frogs, peppermint toads, cauldron cakes…" The lady trailed off. Scorpius dug in his pocket for the money Mum had given him specifically for the sweets trolley.

"Peppermint toads and licorice wands, please," Scorpius said. He handed over the requisite amount of sickles and knuts and then remembered that it might be polite to wake up the other boy. "Hey," he said as he prodded his shoulder. "The sweets trolley is here."

"Huh?" The boy startled awake, then looked between Scorpius and the old woman, who smiled cheerfully. "Oh, here, cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs," he said in a hurry as he got out his own money. "Thanks," he said to Scorpius when the woman moved on. "Can't imagine the train'd be much fun without snacks."

"No problem." Scorpius sat down on his own seat and set out his array of candy. There was quite a lot for how much he'd paid. Then again, he didn't eat candy very often, so maybe it was always cheap. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"Alan Brightman." The boy flopped into his seat and dumped his candy in a pile. "Never had peppermint toads, are they any good?"

"Trade you for a chocolate frog," Scorpius offered. Alan tossed him one and Scorpius passed a toad over. "Are you a pureblood or what?" he asked, trying to make it sound casual. Dad had warned him about that—without going into too much detail, he'd said that Malfoys had been known in the past for being pureblood supremacists, and that he should always try to be respectful of the histories and backgrounds of the people at school.

"More or less a halfblood. Mum and Dad are both half-bloods, and there's muggles and witches and wizards all over the place in my family so it's hard to really tell." Alan opened the peppermint toad and bit the head off before the toad could make its escape. "Not bad!" he said after swallowing it down. "So, what about you?"

"Pureblood, but that's not important," Scorpius said. "Do you know how long the train is to Hogwarts?"

"Probably like nine hours, Mum says we'll get there after dark and it doesn't really get dark until eight or so."

Scorpius pulled a face. Nine plus hours on a train seemed like a really, really boring time. "I hope it's less time than that."

"Definitely. So do you know anybody at Hogwarts? I know a couple of people but they're pretty boring." Alan stretched out on his seat and knocked several of his cauldron cakes to the floor. "I hope I don't get into, like, Hufflepuff. I don't think I would like Hufflepuff."

"Not really. I mean, like, I know people who will be going but I don't know them very well. I mostly played with the muggle children where we live." Scorpius copied Alan and relaxed against the window. "My family's all been in Slytherin. I don't want to let them down but I think I'd be okay in Ravenclaw."

Alan shrugged. "Guess we'll find out when we get there. Don't mind me if I fall asleep, I stayed up all last night so I could sleep on the train and not be bored the whole time."

"Wish I'd done that," Scorpius said. He leaned his head back and stared at what little of the sky he could see. Soon after, Alan passed out again and Scorpius tried to do so as well.

What felt like a blink of his eyes turned out to be several hours because when he woke up next, there was a girl in their carriage and the sky was turning the slightest hint of pink. "Oh, hi," he said, startled.

"This is Demia," Alan said. "That's Sco….something. I forgot your name."

"Scorpius Malfoy. Pleasure to meet you," he said politely.

"Demia Sherwood." She was already in her robes and the carriage was getting a little bit chilly and Scorpius took that as a sign to get his own out. He climbed onto the seat and dug in his trunk for his robes. He was already wearing the uniform pants, but he wasn't too worried about the collared shirt or vest. "I'm going to get Sorted into Slytherin."

"How do you know for sure?" Scorpius asked as he pulled his robes over his head. "I thought you didn't know until you got to Hogwarts?"

"I'll make the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin, it's the only worthwhile House."

Scorpius shrugged. She didn't seem very nice, but he tried not to be judgmental. "Well, I hope you get into Slytherin if that's what you want."

They sat and mostly talked about what they thought Hogwarts would be like. Scorpius' dad didn't really talk about his time at Hogwarts so much; all he would say was that he wasn't very nice and that he was in Slytherin, and that Scorpius should be welcoming of all of the Houses. Before too long, they pulled into Hogsmeade Station. Scorpius' heart started beating faster but he stuck with Demia and Alan and they followed the other first years to a man who couldn't have been all human. In a booming voice, he called, "Firs' years, firs' years this way!"

"What is he?" Scorpius whispered to Demia. She shrugged and they kept to the outside of the mass of children. They found themselves in a boat with a black boy who introduced himself as Martin Finnegan. Scorpius sat quietly, staring wide-eyed at the lake and the castle and the darkness surrounding them on all sides. When they moored on the other side of the lake, Scorpius was about ready to turn around and go home.

"Come on!" Demia whispered. She tugged him up to the school by his sleeve and privately he appreciated her staying with him, not that he'd tell her that. She'd probably say something mean. They soon found themselves in a great, huge entrance hall. Scorpius stared up but he couldn't even see the ceiling. Just staircases, going up and up and up.

A tiny little man with a squeaky voice talked at them for what felt like ages before allowing them into the Great Hall for the Sorting.

Headmaster Blackburn also spoke to them and the Sorting Hat sang a song. Scorpius was too busy looking around at the ceiling and the other students to hear much of what was going on, but as soon as the Sorting started, he straightened up and watched with interest. Alan was Sorted into Slytherin and gave Scorpius a thumbs-up as he headed to the table below the silver-and-green banners.

Before too long, his name was called. "Scorpius Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick, as it turned out his name was, called. Demia shoved him forward and he held his head high, despite how he was shaking. He tried his best not to let it show. Professor Flitwick set the hat on his head and stepped back to watch.

_Hmm_, the hat murmured inside his head. _A Malfoy._

_Yes_, Scorpius thought at it, unsure of whether or not he was supposed to answer.

_I see some concern, perhaps you want to be put somewhere other than Slytherin?_

_Put me anywhere you think I should go_, Scorpius thought. He kind of did want Slytherin because Alan was there and he liked Alan, and he supposed since Demia was also dead-set on getting in Slytherin, that he may as well so he at least knew a few people in his House.

"Better be Slytherin!" the hat roared, finally. The green and silver table clapped wildly and Scorpius trotted on down to them and took the empty seat beside Alan.

"Knew you'd get in," he said. Somebody clapped him on the back and several people called his name.

The next person of interest was Harry Potter's son, Albus. Scorpius knew next to nothing about him except that his personal hero (next to his mum and dad) had a son his age. When he got Sorted into Slytherin as well, Alan and Scorpius both cheered as loudly as they could. The rest of the table seemed a little bit unsure, but Albus sat down a few seats away from Alan and Scorpius and he was greeted happily enough. Demia got in as well and she joined the two boys.

"Told you," she said smugly when she sat down.

"Didn't disagree," Alan said. "There's a lot of first years! It's going to take forever to learn all of them."

Scorpius tried to keep track of some of the first years, but the only ones he could really remember were the ones Sorted into Slytherin. He was too distracted and overwhelmed to think much about names and people and school, and when the food appeared, he dug in, happy to have a reason not to talk.

"First years, follow me!" a tall dark-skinned boy called, about the same time that Scorpius' eyes started drooping. "Slytherin first years, this way!" Several other older students began to do the same thing at the other tables. Scorpius grabbed onto the back of Demia's robes as she tore a path of destruction through the other students to get to the boy. "Out into the Entrance Hall, and don't get mixed up with the other Houses! Follow me, and stay together!"

"Who is he?" he whispered to Demia. Alan caught up to them and they huddled together near the boy while the other first years sorted themselves out.

"I don't know, maybe there's a person in charge of first years?" Demia whispered back.

"Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, meet your prefects by the marble staircase. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, over here!" the boy yelled finally, after realizing that the first years had gotten hopelessly mixed up.

"Gryffindors and Ravenclaws!" a pretty female with long silvery hair called from the staircase.

The Slytherin boy waved at the female and they managed to sort out who belonged where with a minimum of hassle. "Okay, are all of you Hufflepuffs and Slytherins?" he asked finally. A female prefect showed up wearing a black and gold tie and corralled all of the Hufflepuffs off to one side. "Slytherins only, follow me." He turned and headed through a door Scorpius hadn't noticed and led them down into the dungeons. "Now, don't forget where the common room is," he said, leading them down a long hallway. "It's roughly fifty steps past the corner on your right. If you forget the password, you will probably get made fun of, so don't forget it. This one is a bit long so I suggest you write it down when you get in, and they change regularly so always be aware of that. _Quisque competit ad sententiam_!" he said at a stretch of stone wall. It opened to reveal a severe looking room cast in greenish light.

"What does that mean?" Alan asked.

The prefect smirked. "'Everybody is entitled to my opinion'." He said. Most of the first years laughed. Scorpius wasn't sure whether he found it funny or rude so he settled for not doing anything. "Come on, don't be shy," he said. "It looks scary but it'll be home soon enough. Male dorms are to your right and to the side, females to the left and down. Don't mix them up, you won't like the consequences of going into the wrong dorm. Tomorrow is Saturday, so take the day to familiarize yourselves with the castle. Don't be late to your classes on Monday." He paused for a moment, then with a mildly annoyed tone, said, "And my name is Thomas Brown. I forgot to introduce myself but don't expect me to remember any of your names. If you need something, ask any prefect. We're the ones wearing the badges. Don't believe everything the older students say, and don't fall in the lake. Good night!"

Scorpius led the way into the hallway leading to the male dorms. Six other boys followed him. The room they found themselves in was straight on with beds every eight feet or so and their trunks already at the foot of them. "This is it, I guess," Scorpius said to Alan, who seemed perfectly happy. It was a little bit chilly but the duvets on the beds looked thick and warm.

Scorpius found his own trunk and discovered that Albus Potter had the bed last in the line, next to his own. "So how will the great Harry Potter react to his son being in Slytherin?" Scorpius said, in as joking a tone as he could muster.

It apparently didn't come off that way because Albus rounded on him and snapped, "I'm not my father and I can be in whatever House I choose!"

Scorpius smiled broadly and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy and I'm not my dad either. Want to be my friend?" Dad would be positively thrilled to hear Scorpius was making friends with Harry Potter' son, he thought. Plus any kid Harry Potter had was probably really awesome anyhow.

Albus stared at him suspiciously before gingerly shaking his hand. "You can call me Al. I hate my name. Are you crazy?"

"I don't think so," he said. "Anyways, good night!"

After the boys had all yelled good night back and forth and attempted to introduce themselves from their beds, Scorpius closed his bed hangings and snuggled up under his blanket. Maybe Hogwarts wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
